Homebuilders, particularly those who are required to simultaneously manage numerous construction sites, are continually searching for methods of improving efficiency in managing these sites and monitoring workflow. In particular, the need to manage and monitor numerous different suppliers, which may also include contractors, sub-contractors and tradespeople, and to coordinate schedules amongst these parties, represents a significant cost in both time and money.
Project management is essential to ensuring that the homebuilding operation proceeds smoothly. At each construction site, different suppliers need to be coordinated to ensure that jobs are completed to the proper standard, house completion deadlines are met, and budgets are kept in control. Each job needs to be verified for quality and confirmed as completed so that payment for the job can be executed, typically by purchase order, or placed on hold. As the homebuilder becomes responsible for multiple construction sites, hereinafter referred to as projects, each project comprised of numerous houses, hereinafter referred to as lots, with each lot comprised of different jobs, hereinafter referred to as tasks, all running simultaneously, the amount of management overhead required can quickly overwhelm profit margins and make the business operation impractical.
The preferred lots are home constructions associated with the project, a construction site and can be identified by the addresses of the homes. Tasks are materials associated with the lots, such as tiles for a kitchen floor, and can contain the specific task supplier information, if necessary. The tasks cover the assignments of the suppliers, and are organized based on the lot production schedule. For example, the task of tiling the kitchen floor is assigned to a specific supplier and a lot, which belongs to a specific project, and given a projected start date and end date based on the lot construction timetable. The same task would include the detailed task information for the tiles, purchase order information for the tiles (if applicable) and the supplier information for the task.
Products have been developed to attempt to address this need, such as BUILDPRO™ by Hyphen Solutions, however, they are based on centralized or web-based applications, requiring an active Internet connection for ongoing operation. As many projects are in locations that receive intermittent or no Internet access, a product is needed that can be provided as an application on a mobile device, eliminating the need for a continuous, active Internet connection.
As a related issue, current products rely on one-time or “data dump” synchronization. That is, the synchronization between the user units and the central ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system occurs once a day, usually at a scheduled time, such as midnight. By transferring all the synchronization data at once, substantial transfer bandwidth is required, necessitating both a substantial Internet connection, as well as time to complete the data transfer. Furthermore, there is a possibility of conflicting updates, as the users only receive updated data on a daily basis. Thus, there is a need for a system that provides synchronization is a manner which reduces bandwidth requirements, as well as reducing the risk of conflicting updates.
There is a need for a project management system that reduces the project management effort, reduces paperwork and data input and reduces financial costs while providing improved ability to meet closing dates, oversee suppliers, and increase the number of projects, lots, and tasks that can be managed simultaneously.
It is an object of this invention to partially or completely fulfill one or more of the above-mentioned needs.